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Binge drinkers to get counselling Binge drinkers to get counselling
(about 1 hour later)
A scheme giving advice and counselling to binge drinkers arrested for an alcohol-related crime is to be trialled in four parts of England.A scheme giving advice and counselling to binge drinkers arrested for an alcohol-related crime is to be trialled in four parts of England.
The Home Office's "alcohol-arrest intervention schemes" will run in Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire and Ealing, west London, until March 2008. The Home Office's "alcohol-arrest referral projects" will run in Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire and Ealing, west London, until March 2008.
Local alcohol support workers will offer counselling to problem drinkers. In Liverpool, offenders must pay £30 towards the cost of their counselling.
The government says similar programmes in Gloucester and Dudley, West Midlands, have reduced offending.The government says similar programmes in Gloucester and Dudley, West Midlands, have reduced offending.
Police in Gloucestershire say re-offending among those who had attended two advice sessions approximately halved after 12 months.
If the pilot schemes are successful, they may be extended for a further six months and may have their funding increased from the initial £330,000 available.If the pilot schemes are successful, they may be extended for a further six months and may have their funding increased from the initial £330,000 available.
The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the initiative was aimed at binge drinkers, rather than those with a chronic alcohol problem.The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the initiative was aimed at binge drinkers, rather than those with a chronic alcohol problem.
Part of sentencePart of sentence
Once arrested, offenders' drinking habits will be assessed and they may then be referred to a counsellor. Once arrested, for example for causing criminal damage, offenders' drinking habits will be assessed.
Persistent offenders may be required to take part in advice sessions as a condition of their sentence. If police judge that alcohol played a part in the crime the person can be given advice there and then about unit strengths and the effects of alcohol on the body.
Providing people with active, personalised advice about their drinking promises good results in breaking the link between alcohol and violent crime Srabani Sen, Alcohol Concern
Persistent offenders or those with what the Home Office calls "more complex alcohol misuse problems" may be given a conditional caution which requires them to attend in-depth sessions with a local alcohol-support worker.
If they fail to attend they may be prosecuted for the original offence.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the scheme would force binge drinkers to take responsibility for their actions.
"People need to face up to the damage that excessive drinking can do to themselves and those around them," Mrs Smith said.
Chief executive of Alcohol Concern, Srabani Sen, said she applauded the government for devising the scheme.
"It is not enough to just punish those who commit such crimes. We need actively to work with people to change the drinking patterns that lead to trouble," Ms Sen said.
"Providing people with active, personalised advice about their drinking promises good results in breaking the link between alcohol and violent crime."
'Changing attitudes'
The scheme's announcement comes as new research by the Centre for Public Health suggests people in wealthier areas of England are more likely to drink "hazardous" quantities of alcohol than those in poorer regionsThe scheme's announcement comes as new research by the Centre for Public Health suggests people in wealthier areas of England are more likely to drink "hazardous" quantities of alcohol than those in poorer regions
The study pinpointed affluent areas such as Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and Runnymede, Surrey, where it says 26.4% of adult drinkers are putting their health at risk.The study pinpointed affluent areas such as Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and Runnymede, Surrey, where it says 26.4% of adult drinkers are putting their health at risk.
The lowest percentage, 14.1%, was found in the relatively deprived east London borough of Newham.The lowest percentage, 14.1%, was found in the relatively deprived east London borough of Newham.
Deputy assistant commissioner Chris Allison, the Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on alcohol, said: "Changing attitudes and encouraging sensible drinking, alongside effective enforcement action, should help to tackle the root cause of crime associated with the night-time economy."